Donald Trump sacks Secretary of State Rex Tillerson after rifts over Russia, North Korea

Donald Trump sacks Secretary of State Rex Tillerson after rifts over Russia, North Korea

Updated 14 March 2018, 13:15 AEDT

President Donald Trump tweets he is replacing Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State with the CIA's Mike Pompeo, after a series of public rifts over policy on North Korea, Russia and Iran.

US President Donald Trump has unceremoniously fired Secretary of State Rex Tillerson via Twitter after a series of public rifts on foreign policy, with the top diplomat taking a swipe at Russia on his way out.

Key points:

CIA director Mike Pompeo will replace Tillerson

Pompeo is to be replaced at the CIA by the agency's first female director — his deputy Gina Haspel

Trump announced both changes via Twitter

The biggest shakeup of Mr Trump's Cabinet since he took office more than a year ago comes as the administration prepares for an unprecedented meeting with the leader of North Korea.

"We disagreed on things," said Mr Trump, who announced CIA director Mike Pompeo would be replacing Mr Tillerson.

He mentioned differences over how to handle the Iran-nuclear deal, which Mr Trump wanted to withdraw from.

Mr Tillerson also took the opportunity to highlight differences, saying not enough was being done on Russia.

"Much work remains to respond to the troubling behaviour and actions on the part of the Russian Government," he said.

"Russia must assess carefully as to how its actions are in the best interest of the Russian people and of the world more broadly, continuing on their current trajectory is likely to lead to greater isolation on their part."

Though Mr Trump and other officials said he'd been considering replacing the former Exxon Mobile Corp chief executive officer for some time, the President said he made the decision only recently and "by myself".

Mr Tillerson will be "much happier now", Mr Trump said.

The White House also sacked Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Steve Goldstein on Tuesday after he contradicted the official account of how Mr Tillerson was notified of his termination.

Mr Goldstein, who had been in his position for only three months, issued a statement saying Mr Tillerson had not spoken with Mr Trump and was "unaware of the reason" for his dismissal.

He also told reporters Mr Tillerson had learned of Mr Trump's decision via the President's tweet.

Mr Tillerson said he would delegate all of his responsibilities to the State Department's number two official and that he would leave office at the end of the month.

"What is most important is to ensure an orderly and smooth transition during a time that the country continues to face significant policy and national security challenges," Mr Tillerson told reporters in a packed briefing room at the State Department.

"I now return to private life, as a private citizen, as a proud American, proud of the opportunity I've had to serve my country."

Word of Mr Trump's dissatisfaction with Mr Tillerson and plans to replace him with Mr Pompeo had circulated for months, even as Mr Tillerson insisted he didn't plan to leave and that he knew of no plans for his removal.

A senior White House official said Mr Trump asked Mr Tillerson to step down on Friday but did not want to make it public while he was on a trip to Africa.

Mr Trump's announcement came only a few hours after Tillerson landed in Washington after a trip that had been cut short.

The official said Mr Trump works well with Mr Pompeo, a former Republican congressman from Kansas, and wanted him in place before the US President's planned talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and trade negotiations.

Mr Pompeo is to be replaced at the CIA by his deputy Gina Haspel, Mr Trump tweeted. She would be the first woman in that role.

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